Classic Ribbed Hat

If you had to pick (or pack) one knit piece to see you through whatever the day throws your way, it would be hard to choose more wisely than our Classic Ribbed Hat. In cozy Cashmere Merino Bloom, it is the most perfect be-warm, go-anywhere, look-good head topper we can imagine!

Wear it cuffed, wear it slouchy. Wear it bright, wear it neutral. Throw it in your bag just in case or don’t take it off all weekend. Wherever it goes, however it rolls (or doesn’t), the Classic Ribbed Hat is sized for everyone, from babies to adults, and only requires one skein to make it (okay, except for the largest size, which requires two).

Cashmere Merino Bloom is a combo of incredibly soft and toasty cashmere, along with extra fine merino, a good addition for keeping the hat in shape! Plus, we just added 16 colors to the palette, so now you can go vivid with something like potent Red Poppy or purple-y Lotus Flower, or keep your warm head cool in Gray Pearl or Blue Rust. A classic among classics, this is the one!

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62 Responses to Classic Ribbed Hat

The pattern of this lovely hat calls for a #3 needle while the product details say “Suggested Knitting Needle US 5 – 7 “. I am wondering why the #3 is specified? Will it make the fabric too tight with this like worsted weight yarn?

Hello Jane,
Thank you for reaching out! This hat is knit very tightly so that it will maintain it’s stretch over time. It is of course always a good idea to knit up a little gauge swatch before jumping in to avoid any surprises along the way!
Happy knitting!
Marilla

Hello Brenda,
Thank you for reaching out! This hat would be incredible in Jade Sapphire’s 6ply Cashmere, or alternatively you could try out Blue Sky’s Worsted Cotton, it is a bit thicker than the reccomended yarn so you might need to make a couple of adjustments, but I think it would come out beautifully.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla

Hello Marina,
Thank you for reaching out! This pattern is free for download on this page. If you’re on a desktop version of the site, you will find a “print” icon in the right column just below the date and tags. If you’re on a mobile version of the site, you will find a “print” icon below the pattern and above the comments.

Follow the easy on-screen instructions to delete whichever parts of the pattern you don’t want to print or save. For example, you may decide to shorten the pattern by omitting certain images or the list of materials. To remove images, click the drop down next to the image icon and change from 100% to 0%.

To Purchase this yarn, you can simply follow this link to add it to your basket and then order it.

Hello Minu,
Thank you for reaching out! The lovely sweater pictured does not have a pattern, but you do have a couple of sweater patterns that are similar. I would check out our Classic Hemmed Crewneck Sweater pattern and our Hummingbird Pullover.
Happy knitting!
-Marilla

Great question! Hats should fit a bit snugly, so I would choose a size with a stretched measurement that is the same as or a little smaller than the head of the person you are knitting for. In your case, I would choose the Adult Medium for the 20.5″ head, and the Adult Large for the 22.5″ head.

I’m new at knitting hats, and I’ve recently made one that came out too small for my intended wearer, and another one that was too large, in spite of all my efforts to get the size right. (Frustrating but learning experiences.)

So, now I’m extra careful about choosing a size to knit.

That said, I want to add another comment about the pattern. A 2-year old I know measures 20″ head circumference. So I would consider either the Adult Small or Adult Medium, correct?….I’m baffled why he would fit into an “Adult” size hat. Is his head unusually large for a child, or perhaps I am not measuring correctly? (I am measuring the circumference where his head is the largest.)

My idea is to knit a gauge swatch, then measure it stretched with the ideal amount of stretch I would like it to have when worn. When I see how many stitches per inch I can multiply it by the size of the head and know approximately how many stitches to cast on, and choose the one that is closest (84, 96, or 108, etc….a multiple of 12). Would that work well??

I’m sorry to hear your last hat came out too small! Although most patterns list standard sizes such as Baby, Child, and so on, it’s really much more accurate to choose based on the recipient’s head measurement. Children especially can vary quite a bit from the standard – I myself have a child who has been wearing adult sized hats since he was three, and now that he is eight, his head is the same size as mine, which is a bit larger than even the adult large listed in this pattern! My other child, however, has a head that measures just one or two sizes larger than you would expect for his age.

Your plan for measuring a stretched gauge swatch is a perfect way to go about determining which size to knit! Especially since everyone’s personal gauge is a bit different and ribbing is so stretchy, this will give you the most precise fit possible.

Hi juliana,
I’m new to knitting and am using this hat to get better at the knit + purl combo. That said, I need to make this hat for 23” circumference. How would I figure out how many additional stitches I need when casting on? I assume this is more complicated than just casting on more than 132, say 134. Or is it that simple?

Hi and thanks for reaching out! This hat pattern can be knit on any multiple of 12 stitches – although you could start with any even number for the first part, once you got to the decreases, some of the rows would no longer match our instructions, so for a 23″ head, I would suggest starting with 144 or 156 stitches.

Thanks for reaching out! Since the entire hat is knit in ribbing, the decreases have to be written out a bit more than usual as the stitches before the decreases and the rows in between do vary. The first set of decrease instructions, which refer to the Kid, Adult Small, Adult Medium, and Adult Large sizes, all have you decrease down to 84 stitches, which is the number of stitches for the Baby size. At that point the decreases are the same for all sizes since you are working from the same number of stitches.

Dear Knitters at Purl Bee, I love your patterns and yarn and have knitted many up! My question is: I cannot afford Cashmere Merino Bloom. Is there another similar weight wool I can use? I am not good enough at math to figure out the pattern on a different weight yarn.

We hear you! We totally understand that sometimes our yarn suggestions are more of an inspiration than a reality for many people. We are always happy to recommend less expensive (but still beautiful!) alternatives. In this case, we suggest that you try Good Wool. Not only is it less costly, at 383 yards, one skein would be plenty for even the largest size of this hat, and would even be enough for two hats in the Baby, Kid, or Adult Small sizes!

Thank you so much for asking. We’re sure that lots of other readers will thank you, too!

Thanks for writing in! You could certainly use a Long Tail Tubular Cast On for this hat if you wish, as it works for any project that begins with 1×1 or 2×2 ribbing. The only real advantages of a regular Long Tail Cast On are that it’s faster and easier and more people are familiar with how to do it! It also looks different, which is either an advantage or disadvantage, depending how you feel about the appearance of both cast ons. If you prefer the tubular cast on, it is a great option for this hat!

Great idea! A tubular cast on would definitely work for this hat or for any other 1×1 or 2×2 ribbed hat to create an even stretchier edge. If you need to refer to it, our Tubular Cast On tutorial can be found here!

Hi-
Is there a page on your website that that tells a beginning knitter on how to read knit patterns? There are a lot of numbers in parenthesis and acronyms/abbreviations and the * symbol and I don’t see a legend anywhere that explains that these mean. Example: *[p1, k1] 7 (8, 9, 10, 11)
Thank you!
Vedette

Thanks for reaching out! Learning to read knitting patterns can sometimes feel like learning to read another language! We do have a Knitting Abbreviations + Terms guide, which can be found on the Create side of our website in the Knit menu and should be quite helpful. In your example, although it’s not a complete line of instructions, both the asterisk and brackets indicate sets of stitches that should be repeated in the row, and the numbers refer to the different sizes in the pattern – for the smallest size, you would repeat [p1, k1] 7 times, for the next size you would repeat it 8 times, and so on.

I hope that helps, and if you run into any other questions, please let us know!
Julianna

Thank you for this lovely comment. We do not currently have the resources to translate our patterns, but hopefully at some point in the future this will be more of a possibility. In the mean time I will certainly pass along your suggestion!

Thanks for reaching out! The hats shown here are sizes Baby (in Bright Flamingo), Kid (in Pink Apricot) and Adult Medium (in Autumn Oak). You can find this information in our patterns at the end of the sizing information section. I believe if you include your email address with your post you should be notified of all replies, so you might want to check your spam or promotions folder if you haven’t been receiving notifications.

Thanks for reaching out! Unfortunately we do not have instructions for knitting this hat flat; however, it should be fairly easy to modify on your own! For the body of the hat, you will need to work the ribbing as *p1, k1* but otherwise, you should be able to knit the hat as written.

Thanks for reaching out! I think Lotus Flower would really pop against a dark neutral such as Pumpernickel Brown or Blue Rust, or you could pair it with another bright color like Bright Flamingo or True Turquoise for an allover vibrant hat!

I hope that helps, and please do let us know how it turns out!
Julianna

I hit a snag! I am knitting the baby sized hat and just completed the 61/4 inches. If I understand this correctly I start the set up round. I moved the marker one stitch and did the 7 stitches as instructed, placed a marker but then the instructions say to [P1, K1] my next stitch should be a knit stitch. It also says I will have a total of 6 stitch markers; I’m confused by this because if I only knit 7 stitches, I end up with a total of 11 stitch markers! What am I not understanding?

Hello Sue,
Thank you for reaching out! After you move your maker by one stitch you will then *[p1, k1] 7 (8, 9, 10, 11) times. This means that you will Purl 1 and Knit 1, 7 times, totaling 14 stitches. This will give you the needed 6 stitch markers to begin your decreases.
I hope this clears things up and let us know if you have any further questions!
-Marilla

Hello Amy,
Thank you for reaching out! Posy does not have the correct gauge for this project, but it would work for the Boyfriend Hat which has a similar look. Another option is you could knit up a little gauge swatch holding two strands of Posy and see if you can get gauge.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla

Thank you so much for reaching out and letting us know about this! We have had a few similar reports crop up recently of bits of patterns disappearing when trying to create a PDF, but it looks like everything has now been resolved. If you are still experiencing this error, please email us at customerservice@purlsoho.com so we can try to troubleshoot this for you!

Hi there, I began knitting this hat in a size medium adult, but became a bit confused with the crown. I ended up placing 40 sts on three DPNs each and then ktog2 on every DPN until there were no stitches left. Would someone be able to break down in simpler terms on how to complete the crown according to the pattern? It says to set up 6 stitch markers, so does that mean for 120 sts, a total of 12 sts are decreased every round until there are none left?

Hello Susan,
Thank you for reaching out! The decreases for this hat are spaced out into six sections, with one decrease at each marker. This means that six stitches are decreased on your decrease rows. These decreases are are spaced out in a specific way until you have 6 stitches remain and then cut yarn and thread tail onto a tapestry needle. Thread tail through remaining stitches. Pull taught and bring tail to inside of hat to weave in.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla

Please tell me how many grams of the Cashmere Merino Bloom are used for each size?

Specifically, I wonder if I will be able to knit a gauge swatch and the Medium size using only one skein.

(If not, could I possibly knit the gauge swatch and not block it, so I could reuse the yarn? Does this particular yarn relax a lot after blocked/washed? In other words, does the blocking affect the gauge?)

Would you recommend wet-blocking the finished hat? I’m still learning the rules of blocking. Would it stretch out the ribbing? Would you just soak it and then let it sit out to dry rather than stretching it out and pinning?

Hello Natasha,
Thank you for reaching out! For this hat I would reccomend blocking, but your instincts are correct that you should not stretch it out when blocking it and there is no need to pin it! Typically you only need to pin things out that need to be very specific measurements.
I hope this helps and happy knitting!
-Marilla

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